Dearest Zann,

I came out of memory and saw Knarrett staring me in the face. He had pimples and his breath smelled of duck.

“I’m learning a lot from you,” he said to me. “I had never heard of that sauce elfpiss before. And now you get turned into a frog? You’re great. I wish you remembered details of what Logoya’s glyphs had looked like. I could probably get a lot out of that.”

“Could you untie me, please?” I asked.

He laughed. “It’s a shame Ladal wants me to kill you. You’ve got all kinds of great memories to read. And you’re not a stupid pissard, which is rare these days! That’s the bad part of everyone rising up against Lord Clear. The worst people get power. Look at Ladal. He’s not so bad compared to a lot of other street bravos, but to have him making decisions for people? Gods protect me. Anyway, it’s almost worth trying to find a way to save you.”

“Anything I can do to shift that balance?”

“Probably not. Now let’s see what else you remember.” The brass hemispheres were still glowing peacefully, and he caught my gaze again. “Maybe something about the palace. Hmm. Guard politics, that’s boring. Oh, there’s Lord Clear! What’s this animal? Anteater, never heard of it. Wait!” He dropped the brasspiece in his hand and it clanged against one of the ones on the floor. Their light winked out.

Knarrett sat back on his bed and ran his fingers through his hair. He was, again, astonished.

“Ybel? You’re an amazing fellow. I’ve never been surprised as many times in a day as I have been since Ladal brought you in here.”

I tested the ropes tying me to the chair. Still very secure.

“All right,” he said, leaning forward. “Tell me everything you know about Ambe.”

Ambe? “She’s my friend,” I said.

“I know she’s your curst friend! That was obvious. Look. Your Ambe’s a wizard? Young woman, big body, lots of junk in her hair, likes to know more than you do?”

That was her all right. “Ay.”

“And she’s with the Rosollas? You can find her?”

“No.”

“No, no what? She’s not with the Rosollas? I saw her there in your memories!”

“She’s my friend. I don’t want her to end up tied to the chair next to me.”

“It’s not up to you,” he said. “Piss a walnut. This changes everything.” He gathered up his brassware, and some other items from around the room. “Ybel, I don’t believe it, you shifted the pissing balance. Now how can I do this.”

Knarrett took a piece of chalk and made some delicate marks on one of his brass hemispheres. Whispered to it for a minute, until it glowed purple for a second. Then he wrapped it in a soiled pair of drawers and tied it to the ropes around my chest.

“That’s protecting us on the street,” he told me. “Don’t shit around with it.” Then he considered, and concentrated.

I hadn’t thought Knarrett was that powerful for a wizard, but through sheer will, it seemed, he created a glowing symbol in the air between us. He didn’t draw it or anything; it just appeared. He took it between his fingers and touched it to my forehead. I thought it was going to burn, but it didn’t; it didn’t feel like anything. “What did you do?” I said.

He sat back on the bed. “Whoof,” he said, and wiped sweat off his forehead. “I could eat another one of those curst ducks. I wish I had time. No, Ybel, you’re too tricky a fellow. I just bound you to me with magic so you can’t run off. And you need to come with me and talk to some wizards.”

Love,

Ybel